I'm Still Here!

Sorry I dropped off the face of the earth again for so long.  I've been crazy busy.  I can't remember right now if I blogged about this or not, but I'm the Residential Life Coordinator at UWest now, so I'm in charge of the residence hall.  I worked in this field for six years until just after I was ordained, so a good bit of it is old hat.  On top of that, I'm taking an independent study in Korean language and two other courses.

I'm set to graduate next May, so next semester I'll do two classes, plus a comprehensive exam.  I may petition the university to let me do a thesis instead as a lot of Ph.D. programs require a thesis length paper as part of the application process.  I haven't decided if I will go on for a Ph.D. or not after returning from Korea, but I want to be prepared.  If I do a thesis, I'm thinking of writing about Buddhist evangalism in South Korea as a result of the competition from Christianity there.  I have to do a major bibliography (partially annotated) this semester for a course on East Asian Buddhism, so I can use that project as research for my thesis.  We'll see.

In other news, I turn 36 on Sunday the 7th.  People still think I'm in my 20's, unless I let my hair grow a little, then you can see the grey.  I've decided that the key to looking younger is to act like I'm 12 years old.  It seems to be working.  :)

I was also interviewed today for a new advertisement for the university.  I think the whole thing will be longer than a TV commercial, so I think they're putting it on DVD or something...or maybe on the web.  I'm not sure.  The guys doing it (Simon and Richard - both Brits) are doing it in exchange for letting them use our empty second residence hall (creatively called "Hall B" for the time being) to film a pilot (?) for a new web show called "Dorm Life."  Really nice guys.  They said the interview was good, so they may use all of it.  A line they really liked was when I said "You can really change your life here." 

It's really true.  I came here August of '06 and because of the connections I made here I'm heading off to Korea in less than a year. That and I've met so many people from around the world, many of them monastics.  I've learned so much from all of them. 

Finally, I've just started a meditation program every morning 8-8:30 in the Buddha Hall.  It's growing slowly. We just come in quietly, sit down, and do whatever silent meditation we want.  Coming from so many different traditions, we really need to do it that way.  I hope this program continues after I'm gone.  Usually, people just do their own practice in their room or with someone who shares the same tradition, but this program seems to be bringing us together.

OK, so I hope I'll have something more to blog about in less than a month this time.  Stay tuned....